Have Questions or Comments?
Leave us some feedback and we'll reply back!

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Phone Number)

    In Reference to

    Your Message


    SECOND CHANCES

    Ever feel like you messed up?
    Concerned about lost opportunities?
    Missed out because of circumstrances
    beyond your control?
    What message does the Torah convey to
    us for times when oppoprtunities pass us
    by?
    It was the first year following the Exodus.
    Bnei Yisroel was commanded to offer the
    Pesach sacrifice on the 14th of Nissan,
    just as they had done the previous year
    when they were about to leave Egypt.
    But what about those who were unable to
    do so? There was a group amongst the
    people who were ritually impure, being
    that they had come in contact with a
    human corpse. They sincerely desired to
    participate, but were unable to. They
    approached Moshe and Aaron with a
    heartfelt request: “Why should we lose
    out by not being able to bring HaShem’s

    offering at the appointed time…”
    (Bamidbar 9:7)
    Moshe received an answer to their plea.
    “HaShem spoke to Moshe saying, if any
    man will become spiritually impure
    through a human corpse, or be on a distant
    road, whether you, or your generations,
    he shall make the Pesach-offering for
    HaShem on the 14th day of the second
    month (the month of Iyar).”
    (Bamidbar 9:10-11)
    HaShem’s gift to man. The gift of Pesach
    Sheini, the Second Pesach. The
    opportunity for a “make-up” exactly a
    month later. The ability to take the worry
    away, to lift the heavy weight off one’s
    heart, knowing that there is a second
    chance.
    “Whether you, or your generations…..”
    A message not just for the generation of
    the Exodus, but for all time. A message
    that speaks to us today, relevant in the
    21st century as it was thousands of years
    earlier.

    Those “spiritually impure through a
    human corpse, or on a distant road…”
    Pesach Sheini, a second chance is for
    everyone. While only those who were
    ineligible because they were spiritually
    impure appealed for a special
    dispensation, HaShem broadened the
    group to include those on “a distant
    road”.
    Second chances are for everyone. No
    one is ever too far removed, too distant
    from HaShem, that they can’t have a
    second chance. HaShem gives us the
    opportunity to draw closer to Him. We
    may have taken distant paths in life, but
    HaShem’s gates are always open. Like a
    parent who leaves the door open all night,
    anxiously waiting for their child to return
    home, HaShem’s door is always open.
    Those who addressed Moshe exclaimed
    “Lama nigara…. Why should we be left
    out…?” Clearly, they were not looking
    for a “free pass” but had a genuine
    yearning, a love and desire to keep
    mitzvos. These words can also be
    understood as a question that at times
    we must ask ourselves. Do we ever
    give up the opportunity to grab a
    mitzvah? Do we “go into hiding” when
    someone is collecting tzedakah? Are
    we a bit too relieved when others
    volunteer for chesed projects? Or do
    we exert the extra effort so that another
    mitzvah can be “ours”.
    Pesach Sheini is this Friday, May 5, the
    14th of Iyar. It is a custom to enjoy
    some matzah, as a symbolic
    remembrance that second chances are
    always here.
    Pesach Sheini teaches us that there is a
    second chance for self-improvement,
    both spiritually and in our relationship
    with our fellow man. If our davening
    wasn’t as it should be, it’s a time to
    begin. Add another tefillah, concentrate
    a little harder on the meaning of the
    words. Maybe we can increase our
    Torah study. Do more chessed. Give
    more tzedakah. Be more forgiving of
    others who may have slighted us. There
    are so many ways to apply the gift of
    Pesach Sheini to our daily routine.
    It was Erev Pesach. I was a young
    married with little ones, packing up to
    spend Yom Tov with my in-laws.
    The phone rang. Expecting a “have a
    good Yom Tov” call from a friend, I

    lunged to pick it up. “A good Erev
    Pesach” I called out, but this time it was
    my mother. Her voice was broken and
    cracking. The words came tumbling out.
    “Zeide just had a stroke… is in the ER….
    I’m packing up and going to the hospital
    for Pesach….. I need you to come and
    help finish cooking… to be here for Yom
    Tov.”
    A change of plans. We were heading to
    my parents’ home.
    I told Ema that we would all daven, that
    HaShem would help, and Zeide will have
    a refuah. Iy”h, everything will work out.
    My father was out delivering matzah and
    charosses to members of the shul, a

    custom he had for many years. It was pre-
    cell phone days. No way to get in touch.

    My siblings helped my mother pack up
    the essentials, a Seder plate, Haggadah,
    matzah, charosses, wine, and some food
    for Yom Tov.
    My mother spent the Seder nights in a
    cold, sterile hospital room, reading the
    words of the Haggadah and softly singing
    the familiar Seder tunes at Zeide’s
    bedside. With HaShem’s help, Zeide
    recovered and was able to return home
    several weeks later. As the 14th of Iyar
    drew closer, my mother seized the
    opportunity to gather the family for a
    “second chance” Seder. We gathered at
    my parents’ home, where we had a “mini
    Seder” complete with matzah, wine, the
    recitation of the Mah Nishtanah by my
    son Yosef Dov, and daughter, Tziri, who
    were just toddlers at the time, followed
    by a delicious dinner.
    It was our time to say, “Thank you,
    HaShem, for giving our family a second
    chance.”
    Let’s not allow HaShem’s gift of second
    chances to slip by. If you really think about
    it, every day is a day of second chances.